Energy storage systems (e.g., battery energy storage systems) have become increasingly used to deliver power either as part of standalone energy storage systems or as part of a power generation systems (e.g., a wind farm, solar farm, gas turbine system) with an integrated energy storage system. Energy storage systems can include one or more battery banks that can be coupled to the grid or other load via a suitable power converter. Energy storage systems are unique in that energy storage systems have the ability to both deliver and reserve energy for particular services.
Battery performance and life of the energy storage system can be dependent on operating temperature. For instance, a battery having a ten year life while operating at 25° C. may only have a three year life when operating at 45° C. When batteries are charged and discharged, the batteries can generate heat both internally and externally via associated electrical connections. In some cases, the heat can be associated with resistance losses that increase significantly as the batteries operate at higher currents and higher powers. This effect can be magnified because operating at higher temperatures can accelerate failure modes that increase with cell resistance, which can cause an additional increase in temperature for a given power level.
Operation and temperature control of large scale energy storage systems can include regulating the ambient temperature of the room or space having the energy storage devices to a constant temperature (e.g., 25° C.). In some applications, the constant temperature set point can be in the range between 18° C. and 35° C. Maintaining the temperature can result in operating costs (e.g. HVAC costs) to maintain the ambient condition in the battery space.